Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) today announced the completion of the ninth annual U.S. Strategy Challenge, a ten-week program in which top-performing Morgan Stanley employees provide pro-bono strategic advice to nonprofit organizations on mission critical challenges. This year, nine nonprofits participated in the program, and Morgan Stanley teams presented final strategic recommendations for each nonprofit in a competition at Morgan Stanley’s New York headquarters on May 24.

The winner of the ninth annual U.S. Strategy Challenge was Tuesday’s Children, a response and recovery organization formed in the aftermath of Tuesday, September 11, 2001 that supports youth, families and communities impacted by terrorism and traumatic loss. New York-based Tuesday’s Children challenged its Morgan Stanley team to provide guidance on how they should expand their Military Families Initiative geographically. After performing extensive analysis, the Morgan Stanley team recommended Tuesday’s Children expand its core family programs to the military community in Dallas and San Diego via a staged rollout.

“The quality of the information provided by the Morgan Stanley team throughout the 2017 Strategy Challenge was not something that we would ever have the capacity to deliver,” said Liz Zirkle, Director of Military Initiatives at Tuesday’s Children. “The team turned what we gave them into actual action plans, and we have already started implementing their ideas.”

The Morgan Stanley Strategy Challenge was developed to tap into the skilled and creative minds of Morgan Stanley employees and put their analytical and strategic thinking to work in local communities through pro-bono volunteering with key nonprofit partners. Since its launch in 2009, the program has cumulatively delivered more than 80,900 hours of service to 117 non-profit organizations, providing charities with significant assistance in bringing true value and lasting change to the community, while giving valuable skills training to over 500 Morgan Stanley employees. These figures also include outcomes from the UK Strategy Challenge.

“There is opportunity for real positive change when employees use their skills and experience to provide local non-profits with the tools necessary to address their mission critical challenges,” said Joan Steinberg, Global Head of Philanthropy at Morgan Stanley. “Over the last 10 weeks, we have seen employees come together with a united goal of giving back to charities that give back to the communities where we live and work.”

At the Strategy Challenge final event, each team had 15 minutes to present their work to a mixed panel consisting of a senior Managing Director from Morgan Stanley, a partner from The Bridgespan Group, and an Executive Director from a past nonprofit participant. Police Athletic League was the runner up and Rescuing Leftover Cuisine received third place.

The nine nonprofit organizations that participated in this year’s U.S. Strategy Challenge are:

• Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation

• Gibney Dance

• Police Athletic League, Inc.

• Qualitas of Life Foundation

• Rescuing Leftover Cuisine

• Stanley M. Isaacs Center

• Tuesday’s Children

• Volunteer New York!

• Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDco)

Earlier this month, Morgan Stanley also concluded the fourth annual Strategy Challenge in the UK, benefitting five London-based nonprofit organizations. Save the Children won the competition, which took place at Morgan Stanley’s Canary Wharf offices in London.

For more on the Strategy Challenge programs in the U.S. and the UK, visit the Strategy Challenge blog and follow #StrategyChallenge on Twitter and LinkedIn.

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